Don’t have to go to NYC for Sweet treat

There’s so much hype about the “cronut,” half croissant, half doughnut, introduced to New Yorkers last month at Dominique Ansel’s SoHo Bakery.

To update you, the cronut has taken New York by storm. Not only do obsessed cronut-lovers wait in long lines for the dessert du jour at $5 a pop, but there’s also a new delivery service that reportedly charges $100 per pastry.

Talk about a sugar high!

The good news is that you don’t have to head for New York for a cronut fix.

You can get a doughnut-croissant hybrid, called the “dosant,” at Sweet, 305 Shrewsbury St., Worcester.

In fact, owner/executive pastry chef Alina Eisenhauer has made dosants since she first went into business in 2006 in Sturbridge.

“We have been doing deep-fried croissant dough for years,” said Eisenhauer when she first heard about cronut-crazed New Yorkers.

“I didn’t invent the wheel, but there is good food outside New York,” said Eisenhauer.

Her rectangular-shaped dosants, deep-fried croissant dough filled with dark chocolate, are made to order, served warm and dusted with sugar. Cost is $9, three to a plate, or bag. A caramel sauce for dipping is served on the side.

The gooey chocolate filling inside the crisp dosant definitely sets it aside from other croissant/doughnuts.

The warm dessert should be eaten right away, said Eisenhauer, who on occasion fills orders to go.

The dessert appears regularly on Sweet’s dessert bar menu, cooked to order after the 5 p.m. opening.

The cronut, trademarked by Ansel, are layers of croissant dough shaped like a doughnut, filled with custard, dusted in sugar and glazed with frosting.

Eisenhauer said she first made the dosants as a way to use the extra dough from croissants. “It was an experiment that worked,” she said. “When I was in Sturbridge, we called it breakfast food.”

Customers have loved dosants from the very beginning, according to Eisenhauer, who said customers “freaked” when she recently ran out of them.

Seasonally, the dosant’s filling may change, said Eisenhauer, who sometimes in late summer will make a Concord grape coulis and pair it with peanut butter.

At Sweet’s dessert bar, the chef recommends champagne or prosecco with the dosants, or a “good,” dark beer.

More Sweet news:

Sweet will move to 72 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, by early October. “If things work out, we could reopen by the end of September,” said Eisenhauer.

Sweet will be located in space between 7 Nana Japanese Steakhouse and the newly opened Volturno Pizza.

The business will remain open at its present address until the final moving date is announced, according to Eisenhauer.

“Our kitchen will be four times larger at the new location, which means we can expand our menu,” said Eisenhauer. “The dessert bar and pastry area will be spacious,” she said.

Eisenhauer expects the dessert bar will open earlier and business hours in general will be extended. She plans to double the number of employees.

Eisenhauer also recently filmed a pilot TV food and travel show that will debut in early 2014. “I am not allowed to talk about the show until everything is a go,” she said.

FYI: Eisenhauer had a 10-year fitness career and competed in fitness pageants, including Miss Fitness USA. During her culinary career, she has competed on the Food Network’s “Sweet Genius” (which she won), “Chopped” and “Cupcake Wars” cooking shows. She has won numerous awards as a pastry chef and considers one of her greatest career achievements to have been selected to host a sold-out dinner at the James Beard House in Manhattan.

Visit www.sweetworcester.com for information about Sweet and business hours.

•Robert “Gus” Giordano, owner of Maxwell’s Silverman’s Toolhouse and Luciano’s Cotton Club at Union Station, both in Worcester, was host for “Satisfaction: A Rolling Stones Experience,” a tribute production that took place last weekend at Union Station. The highly acclaimed production rocked the house.

During the evening, in honor of Giordano’s birthday (June 22), the guests broke into song, and the staff at Luciano’s brought out a surprise birthday cake.

Only two or three sparklers on the cake!

FYI: Giordano opened Steeple Bumpstead in Worcester in the 1970s and was an owner of the original Sir Morgan’s Cove in Worcester in the late 1960s.

Music is in his DNA.

If you see Gus, wish him a belated “Happy Birthday.”

•The Castle Restaurant in Leicester will have “Jazz on the Patio” (overlooking Lake Sargent) beginning July 7 through Sept. 15.

Music is performed from 3 to 7 p.m., rain or shine. No cover; refreshments are available.

Reminder: The Big Dipper All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival is from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. June 29, rain or shine, in Elm Park in Worcester.

Visit www.childrensfriend.org for more information.

•

Outdoor grilling at the Hexmark Tavern at the Salem Cross Inn, 260 W. Main St., West Brookfield, began this week.

Executive chef Robert Thackaberry of Grafton fires up the grill on Wednesday evenings.

Call, (508) 867-2345, for more info.

•

“Bello Rosemarino” is a drink created for the Fourth of July by Troy Sidle, bartender and co-owner of Pouring Ribbons in New York.

Sidle blends raspberries and rosemary with vodka and incorporates Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato in the drink.

Here’s the recipe: “Bello Rosemarino” Cocktail: In a shaker, muddle 5 raspberries and 1 rosemary sprig. Add .5 ounce of fresh lemon juice, 1.5 ounces vodka and ice. Shake briefly and pour into a rocks glass. Add a scoop of Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato and garnish with a rosemary sprig. Serve with a very small spoon.

If you have a tidbit for this column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

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